By the time Hu Guangbing arrived in Fancheng, it was already the second day of the eighth month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen.

The Huguang soldiers, which were originally under the command of Chen Hongfan, totaled more than 8,000 people, consisting of six battalions of soldiers and horses, two reinforcement battalions of the generals, and four guerrilla battalions.

These 8,000 men are the actual number, and the number of people who received salaries in the war rolls was more than 12,000. It is normal to eat empty salaries, after all, the military salaries issued by the imperial court will be partially shortaged.

If the salary and silver issued by the imperial court every quarter were to be paid in full to the soldiers below, it would only be enough to pay 9,000 people, and it would not be distributed according to 12,000 people at all.

And this is still in wartime, because Yang Sichang was there before, so much money was able to be invited.

In normal times, arrears of wages were the norm, and the salaries and grains that were distributed were not enough to support the family.

If it is really only reported that 8,000 people will go up, then the northwest wind will not be able to drink it. In the current situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, sometimes it was not the generals at the bottom who wanted to eat empty salaries and drink the blood of soldiers, but the current situation and reality forced them to eat empty salaries and drink the blood of soldiers.

For example, the Hanzhong army led by Chen Wang did not eat empty salaries, and the troops who paid salaries and silver in full were actually abnormal anomalies.

The reason why Chen Wang is able to raise so many soldiers and horses now is that he initially relied on the gold and silver captured as the first start-up capital, and then after becoming a town general, he borrowed the power in his hand to collect money.

Whether it is the camp town in the nine sides or the camp town in the mainland, most of the camp generals are doing such things.

It's just that the pattern of the nine sides has been decided, and the mines and acres are controlled by the local generals and wealthy families, and the buying and selling of salt and iron is monopolized by the government, and the general army level is not qualified to participate at all.

Therefore, at the border pass, many generals secretly traded with the Mongolian tribes in the north, just to earn money.

Such a situation was repeatedly banned in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. The camps and towns in the interior, with the emergence of a pattern of emphasizing civil affairs over military force, the power in their hands is getting smaller and smaller, and there is no way to earn a large amount of money.

The reason why Chen Wang, who served as a town general in Hanzhong Prefecture, was able to collect so many acres of land and mines, and at the same time monopolized the private salt trade and checkpoint taxes in the territory.

The biggest reason is that the old order has been broken because of the destruction of the rogues. Whether it is Hanzhong Mansion or Yunyang Mansion, or now Henan and other places, it is because of the destruction of the Liukou that Chen Wang was given the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

And the military power in his hands, and the increasing status, allow Chen Wang to firmly control these wealth, which makes people dare not peep.

Outside the city of Xiangyang, thousands of sails crossed. A large number of soldiers were starting to land by boats, and the ferry port west of Xiangyang City was also occupied, and one after another fiery red flags were erected on the water's edge.

Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang, but he did not have any sailors. Originally, there was a sailor in Xiangyang City, and when Xiangyang City fell, the sailor who docked at the Hanshui ferry would naturally not sit still.

When the army came to accept the ferry, the sailors of Xiangyang had already fled the ferry by boat.

Now half of the Ming army sailors outside Xiangyang City came to the aid from Wuchang, and the other part is the sailors of Xiangyang.

With the advantage of the sailor, the control of Hanshui was firmly controlled by Chen Wang, which also made Xiangyang City a lonely city.

In the face of their landing, there was only a drum beat on the city of Xiangyang, and then calm was restored, and there was no other movement.

The defenders of Xiangyang City did not attack, and the gates of Xiangyang City were firmly closed. On the southern wharf west of Xiangyang City, more than a dozen warships of the Ming Army's naval division were crossing the surrounding waters.

One ship gun after another looked through the gun door and looked at the empty waterfront not far away. If the city's rogues tried to attack the docks from both flanks, they would be met with heavy artillery fire.

Among the warships of the Ming army, one of the ships of the Ming army was the most eye-catching, because it was the largest in size and the most numerous flags hung on it.

That lucky ship was naturally the flagship of the Ming army's naval division. And Chen Wang was standing at the bow of this lucky ship at this time, inspecting the entire battlefield.

Although he is a northerner, Chen Wang is not seasick. Liaodong is near the sea, and the original body even has the experience of going to sea, and has taken many back ships, or sea ships.

Therefore, Chen Wang did not stay in the camp, but directly boarded the flagship and commanded in person under the city of Xiangyang.

"General Qiyu, all the siege equipment has been transported to the city, and it will probably take until sunset today to be transported to the shore, and the attack can be launched early tomorrow morning." On Chen Wang's side, a middle-aged man dressed as a general in light armor lowered his head and hunched his waist was extremely respectful.

Hearing the voice coming from beside him, Chen Wang also put down the clairvoyant mirror in his hand and looked to the side.

"General Sun has worked hard, and after the equipment is finished, you still need the sailors under your command to guard the river to prevent the rogue in Xiangyang City from sneaking up on both wings." At this time, the general standing next to Chen Wang was the commander of this water division, named Sun Shenwu, and he was the general of the Wuchang water division.

"The general's words are serious, for the sake of state affairs, how dare you say that it is hard." Sun Shenwu smiled and said with a smile.

"Please rest assured, if the rogue dares to come, his subordinates will definitely let those pickled people taste the taste of the cannons." Chen Wang is now the most prestigious general in the imperial court.

Today, it is even more Chrysostom Yuyan, in front of the palace to praise its brave crown of the three armies, and later named the general of the thief, awarded the president's ministries, and changed the right to dispatch.

Sun Shenwu naturally didn't dare to offend easily.

"General Sun's performance, in the documents of the victory, I will definitely record it truthfully." Sun Shenwu's thoughts, Chen Wang is naturally clear, and he also made a guarantee at the moment.

Although the sailors of inland rivers were loosely armed, in addition to the role of battle, they could also help transport grain and grass, and assume duties such as guarding.

Moreover, the southern water network is dense, and if you can have a water division, it will naturally be a huge help. Although there are only more than 20 warships in the navy under Sun Shenwu's command, and there are many small boats, they can be used.

And the ship will not be a problem in the future, only the money needs to be in place, and it will not take much effort to launch the ship.

The rare thing for a sailor is not a boat, but a soldier, an experienced sailor. As the saying goes, ten years of the Army, a hundred years of the Navy.

Although it is not yet the era of warships and huge cannons in the future, but now there are sail warships, and it is the era of alternating hot and cold weapons, and it is still difficult to train sailors.

An army can achieve small success in a few months of training, and it can become a qualified army after a few battles.

However, the Navy's training is basically calculated on a yearly basis, and the Navy's training is difficult and lasts for a long time. Chen Wang did not have the talent of a sailor under his hands.

During this period of contact, Chen Wang found that this Sun Shenwu was indeed at some level. Sun Shenwu is not a general who eats and waits for food, and the boats under his hands are well maintained.

Although the sailors under his command look lazy, they are extremely capable in doing things. There is also a murderous aura in his bones, obviously he has seen blood and fought.

This was also confirmed by the information sent by the superintendent, although Sun Shenwu, a staff general, spent a lot of money.

But Sun Shenwu really has military merits. In the vicinity of Wuchang, Sun Shenwu exterminated a lot of water bandits, and the sailors under his command were indeed all in battle.

Therefore, Chen Wangcai had the intention of soliciting Sun Shenwu. Sun Shenwu has no background, his family is not big, his clan power is not strong, and there are basically no people on the official face to take care of him, so he can just take it for his own use.

When Chen Wang's words fell, he saw Sun Shenwu's eyes suddenly light up.

"That'...... Then thank you General......" Sun Shenwu forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and his voice couldn't help but tremble a little.

"Humble ...... In the future, he will definitely do more ...... "He has been in the position of general for five years, how can he not want to go further."

It's just that all the relationships he can use have been used, and all the money that should have been spent has been spent, but there is still no way to go further.

In the past few days, Chen Wang has shown more than one intention between his words, and he has also inspected the sailors under his command.

Another opportunity is on Chen Wang's body, and it is no wonder that Sun Shenwu is excited at the moment.

The bell of the pier rang ————, interrupting Sun Shenwu's later words. The ringing of life is the signal for the ship to arrive at the dock.

Sun Shenwu also stopped speaking in time. After Chen Wang encouraged Sun Shenwu a few words, he took a group of soldiers and walked off the lucky boat.

On the dock, a group of generals had been waiting for a long time, and before Chen Wang arrived, several generals had already bowed down.

"Humble Zhao Zhenzhong, see the general!"

"Just take a bow and do a half-salute." Chen Wang raised his hand slightly, and the generals got up. Zhao Zhenzhong and Lin Dechen are the two generals in the Huguang battalion today.

Chen Hongfan was in charge of more than 10,000 soldiers and horses as the chief soldier, so he naturally did not rely only on the less than 500 cavalry under his command.

The soldiers and horses in Huguang naturally also have Chen Hongfan's descendants. And Zhao Zhenzhong is Chen Hongfan's descendant in Huguang.

After Chen Hongfan left, he naturally explained the situation under his command to Chen Wang. As for Lin Dechen, Chen Wang was promoted from the army in Henan.

Another general of the Huguang battalion under Chen Hongfan was not Lin Dechen, but a veteran soldier.

I don't have much ability to fight, but I can drill camps. So when he was in Henan, Chen Wang let the general die on the battlefield in a timely manner.

Now in the sixth battalion of Huguang, including Lin Dechen, there are two generals who have also been promoted by Chen Wang.

The guerrillas of four guerrilla battalions, two of which were replaced, were replaced for various reasons. After all, the war in Henan is still quite fierce, and there are no eyes for swords and guns.

In today's situation, it is too normal for one or two guerrillas and generals to die, and no one can find fault with it.

Zhao Zhenzhong is a descendant left by Chen Hongfan, so he will naturally listen to Chen Wang's words. Of the remaining five battalion generals, three of them were all people who were single-handedly picked up by Chen Wang.

Chen Wang naturally investigated these battalion generals who were promoted in advance, and they were all willing to serve and capable people.

Moreover, before being promoted, these battalion generals also placed their families and children in Yunyang Fucheng. In addition to the replacement of battalion commanders, the middle and lower-level officers have actually experienced a wave of large-scale blood changes during this period.

As for the troops at the grassroots level, most of them are still the battalion soldiers of Huguang, and the backbone has not changed, and there is no need to change.

They used to be under Chen Hongfan, and the military salaries they received were basically insufficient. The military salary issued by the imperial court was not much, and Chen Hongfan had to support his family at that time.

Chen Hongfan is a northerner, has no power in the south, and has no way to make money at all, so he can only eat empty salaries to fill the vacancy.

After Chen Wang took over, all the military salaries were paid in full, and they were directly distributed to each soldier.

The soldiers at the bottom received the full amount of money every quarter. And these Huguang battalion soldiers who received full salaries did bring a little full salary shock to Chen Wang in Henan later.

The soldiers and horses of the sixth battalion of Huguang can now be said to be firmly controlled by Chen Wang.

"How's the build-up?" Chen Wang walked closer and asked directly.

"Returning to the general's words, according to the general's request, each battalion recruited villagers to fill the vacancies, and now it has actually made up to 12,000 people." Zhao Zhenzhong took a step forward and replied.

"Well done." Chen Wang nodded. Most of the time, the six battalions of Huguang were handed over to Zhao Zhenzhong to be in charge, and the same was true for the siege battle this time.

"Xiangyang City is strong and difficult to capture in the short term, this is a protracted battle, and it happens to be a place for military training." Chen Wang did not hide his intentions and did not shy away from it in the slightest.

Earlier, he had already made it clear. Siege is real, training troops is also real, and training with battle is a normal thing.

It's not something that needs to be hidden.

"The situation of several battles in Henan, you are also clear in your hearts."

"Under my Chen Wang's command, there is no need for incompetent generals." Chen Wang's eyes were cold, and his gaze slowly swept over the bodies of the generals in front of him.

All the generals who were swept by Chen Wang's eyes lowered their heads involuntarily. The pressure brought by Chen Wang's eyes really made them feel a little unbearable.

"This attack on Xiangyang, I am willing to lead the troops as a vanguard!" Lin Dechen was the first to speak, and he came out of the crowd and clenched his fists to ask for his life.

"Please rest assured that we will never let the general's reputation be disgraced again." With Lin Dechen's words, the rest of the generals also reacted and asked for battle, and the atmosphere seemed quite agitated for a while.

Chen Wang responded to Lin Dechen's request for the first attack, and also responded to the request of the rest of the military academies.

"You have been obeying my orders for some time, and I should know what kind of person I Chen Wang is."

"Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have done wrong will be punished."

"Since you have received the military salary, you must be worthy of the military salary in your hand." Chen Wang looked at the group of generals in front of him and said solemnly.

"Capture Xiangyang, please write a book for you, please reward your merits!"

"Obey!" Chen Wang's voice fell, and what responded to him was the unison of the generals of Huguangying Town.